SOUND

Sound is energy transferred by the compression & rarefaction of matter: sound waves are compressional waves

Collisions between molecules transfer energy from molecule to molecule

So… can sound travel in a vacuum?

The Speed of Sound

Sound waves move faster for two reasons.

When the molecules in the medium are closer together (solids & liquids)

When the temperature of the medium increases

Properties of Sound

LOUDNESS is the human perception of sound energy.

So… the “loudness” of a sound measures its AMPLITUDE.

Loudness is measured in decibels (dB)

LOUDNESS SCALE

The decibel scale is logarithmic… that means that, for every 10-dB increase,

the sound is 10 TIMES as loud

PITCH is the human perception of frequency.

How high or how low a sound seems to be

High notes have high frequencies, and low notes have low frequencies.

Human ears hear frequencies from 20 to

20,000 Hz

What does this mean for wavelength?

If a frequency isn’t in the human hearing range, does it still make a

sound?ULTRASONIC ~Frequencies

over 20,000 Hz

~Medical & Science uses

SUBSONIC or INFRASONIC

~Frequencies under 20 Hz

~feel like a “rumble”

The DOPPLER EFFECT refers to the apparent change in frequency of a sound when there is relative motion of the source and listener.

Right person hears a higher f due to shorter

λ.

Left person hears lower f

due to longer λ.

Sound source moving with vs

Apparent f0 is affected by motion.

LIGHTLight energy is carried by transverse

waves. Light can travel through matter, OR through a vacuum.

Light energy is carried by transverse waves. Light can travel through matter, OR through a vacuum.

When light strikes the boundary between two media, three things may happen: reflection, refraction, or absorption.

reflection

refraction

absorption

Water

Air

Reflection, Refraction, and AbsorptionREFLECTION occurs when a ray from one medium strikes the boundary and bounces off.

REFRACTION occurs when a ray enters the second medium and bends away or toward the normal line.

INDEX OF REFRACTION: the ratio between the speed of light in a vacuum and the speed of light in a medium

ABSORPTION occurs when a ray is absorbed atomically by the water and does not reappear.

Water

Air reflection

refraction

absorption

Refraction Distorts Vision

Water

Air

Water

Air

Your eyes (and brain) believe that light always travels in straight lines. So, when

looking through a boundary, you see objects closer to the surface due to refraction.

Your eyes (and brain) believe that light always travels in straight lines. So, when

looking through a boundary, you see objects closer to the surface due to refraction.

Away or toward? Light bends…

AWAY from the normal when going from a medium with a higher index to one with a lower index (water to air)

TOWARD the normal when going from a medium with lower index to one with a higher index (air to water)

OPTICAL DENSITY: the tendency for materials to absorb electromagnetic energy. This is related by the index of refraction – higher index = more density

A Special Case of Reflection:Total Internal Reflection

When light passes at an angle from a medium of higher index to one of lower index, the emerging ray bends away from the normal.

When the angle reaches a certain maximum, called the CRITICAL ANGLE (θC), all of the light will be reflected internally.

i = r

Critical angle

qc

Diffraction Also known as

“scattering” Diffraction produces

rainbows… Different colors of

light have different wavelengths

As the waves travel through the water droplets, each color bends by a different amount based on its wavelength

Interference

Appears as a series of dots or lines.

First discovered by Young, who studied the nature of light… wave or particle.